This invention relates to mechanically handling flowable, especially discrete, material, and more particularly to the support and containment of such material upon a platform base which enables handling to be effected by means such as lift truck forks or pallet trucks throughout its filling or loading, transportation, storage and emptying operations.
It is well known to provide solid deck-spaced pallets upon which loads may be built and the formed unit mechanically handled up to the time when the carried load is required for its intended use and is removed, leaving the pallet in its single-purpose original, unchangeable state.
Throughout this specification, the expression xe2x80x9cdeck-spaced pallet basexe2x80x9d is intended to define a pallet base which is held clear of the ground or other surface by rigid supports which allow the entry of lifting means.
It is also known to provide such pallet bases upon which superstructures such as boxes, cages, bags etc. may be mounted or placed to form pallet packs for containing materials or articles, and for such inter-bulk units to be mechanically handled up to the time when the carried contents mass is required.
Depending upon the particular application and systems in use, the emptying of such inter-bulk pallet packs can be carried out manually, mechanically, pneumatically, or by package inversion, but in every case, whether fixed to or releaseably secured to the containment structure, the pallet base retains its permanent deck-spaced solid form.
This feature is still evident in the load containment systems disclosed by U.K. Design Registration-No. 1022405, International Patent Publication WO/03057, European Patent Specification No. 0073787, and U.K. Patent Specifications Nos. 248162 and 2147269, and also a precursor to the present invention, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 9,616,436.3; all of which relate to my inventions concerning the use of base handling sleeves which are expansible and collapsible. While such sleeves can enable loads carried upon them to be handled by fork-lift trucks, they preclude the use of pallet trucks and the four-way entry capabilities of deck-spaced pallet bases.
The object of the present invention is to provide means for more effectively discharging flowable material from a pallet pack or a pallet base.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method of mechanically handling flowable material comprises loading it onto a deck-spaced pallet base having a frame provided with rigid supports within which frame there are pivotally mounted downwardly-openable means also provided with rigid supports whereby the means are held closed during loading by contact between the ground and the supports on said means, transporting the loaded base to a required location by applying a lifting force beneath the means which acts to hold them closed during transport, resting the supports on the frame upon suitably spaced-apart members at said location, and removing said force to permit the means to open without manual intervention for gravity discharge of the material.
Preferably, the method further comprises applying the force by means of the forks of a fork-lift truck.
The method may further comprise containing the material in a bag having a discharge sock, and keeping the sock closed by employing said means to pinch it until they are permitted to open.
The method may further comprise containing the material in a flexible liner within a box mounted on the pallet base, the liner having a discharge sock closed by employing said means to pinch it until they are permitted to open, and an inlet sock closed by pinching it in a lid for said box.
The method may further comprise loading or unloading a box mounted on the pallet base by resting the frame on suitably spaced-apart members so that the means are permitted to open, inserting a ram upwardly through the opening, and activating the ram in stages so as to lower into or raise out of the box successive layers of items such as bottles supported on rigid sheets which fit closely within the box.
According to another aspect of the invention, apparatus for mechanically handling flowable material comprising a deck-shaped pallet base having a frame provided with rigid supports within which frame there are pivotally mounted downwardly-openable means also provided with rigid supports.
The downwardly-openable means preferably comprise a pair of flaps pivotally mounted on elements at opposed sides of the frame, outer supports fixed to said elements, and inner supports fixed to the ends of the flaps remote from their pivots.
Preferably, the inner and outer supports are so spaced apart so as to allow entry of the forks of a fork-lift truck from any side of the pallet base.
Preferably, also, the adjacent faces of the outer supports are inclined in order to limit the angle of opening of the flaps.
Preferably, another pair of downwardly-openable flaps are pivotally mounted above the first mentioned pair thereof on the other two sides of the frame, said other pair of flaps being so shaped that their angle of opening is limited by the open position of the first-mentioned pair of flaps.
Preferably, also, the frame comprises the edges of a lower sheet incorporating the first-mentioned pair of flaps and the edges of a top sheet incorporating said other pair of flaps, the edges of the two sheets being fixed together.
Alternatively, the frame comprises the edges of a top sheet incorporating said other pair of flaps, the elements on which the first-mentioned pair of flaps are pivotally mounted being separately secured beneath opposing edges of the top sheet.
The pallet base may support a rigid box having, two pairs downwardly-openable flaps in its base.
The frame may comprise, or have fixed to it, upstanding sides which form a tray.
The corners of the tray may support vertical posts which are capable of being extended, of locating a liner and/or side panels, of being folded parallel to the pallet base, and/or of having a lid or top stays.
Alternatively, a foldable sleeve with open top and bottom fits within the sides of the tray both when erected and when collapsed.
A cap preferably fits over the sleeve when the sleeve is both erected and collapsed.
The pallet base may support a pallet collar or a vertical stack of a plurality of pallet collars.
The pallet base may support a box which is sub-divided in order to carry delicate items in bulk without damage by means of a central dividing wall slideable in vertical guides on the box, and at least one pair of horizontal dividing flaps pivotally mounted at their outer ends on bearers on the central wall, the arrangement being such that when the downwardly-openable means of the pallet base are permitted to open the central wall falls and permits the dividing flaps to pivot downwards for gravity discharge of the items.
The tray may support a box which is octagonal in plan view for-improved strength, a square or rectangular lid of the same shape and dimensions in plan view as the tray is provided for the box, and four fillets of triangular cross-section fit between the corners of the tray and the corners of the lid along the angled sides of the box to strengthen the box further.
The tray may support a collapsible sleeve which has internal flaps foldable to form hollow integral corner stiffeners.